Airbus said to be in discussions with CFM over more Jet engines

Airbus SE is in discussions with General Electric Co. and Safran SA’s airplane CFM International unit to increase supplies of its engines as Boeing Co. halts production of the beleaguered 737 Max narrow-body, people familiar with the matter said.

The engine maker is seeking to ramp up production of the 1A variant of the CFM LEAP engine, which is used on the A320 neo jets, the people said, adding that discussions are ongoing and a decision hasn’t been taken. The engine is similar to the 1B version, which goes on the 737 Max. The Max has been grounded since March, following two fatal crashes of the Boeing model in five months.

While the engines are similar, it wouldn’t be easy to switch capacity away from the Max. Since the engines are two different sizes, almost every part is manufactured differently.